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The
fifth-largest U.S. bank by assets told employees in its
technology division to "exercise judgment in determining when to
adapt to business attire," according to an internal memo from
late June seen by Reuters on Thursday.
It did not specify whether hoodies or sneakers, the ad-hoc
uniform of millennial tech workers, constitute acceptable dress.
The move, one of the first by Goldman's new chief information
officer Elisha Wiesel, comes as the bank makes a push to recruit
and keep hold of top tech talent in the face of intensifying
competition.
Goldman and other Wall Street banks have been struggling for
years to compete for the best employees with Silicon Valley
firms and hedge funds, which often have better hours and
workplace perks for top software developers and engineers.
Wiesel replaced Martin Chavez, now the firm's chief financial
officer, as Goldman's highest ranking technology executive in
January.
About a quarter of Goldman's 33,000 employees are engineers who
have helped transform the firm since the 2007-2009 financial
crisis by making trading more efficient and building new
businesses such as its consumer lending platform called Marcus.
The majority of the bank's employees still adhere to a
professional business dress code unless told otherwise by their
group's manager.
Other banks are also relaxing dress codes. Last year, JPMorgan
Chase & Co <JPM.N> said it would allow employees to wear
business-casual attire on most occasions. In 2013, Barclays Plc
<BARC.L> started to allow casual Fridays.
(Reporting by Olivia Oran and Anna Irrera in New York; Editing
by Bill Rigby)
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